Giro d’Italia 2025

Stage 2 – Tirana (Tiranë) > Tirana (Tiranë) ITT (13.7km)

Sat 10th May | First Rider 1355 CET

Profile

[Image credit: www.sanluca.cc]

Stage 2 Preview

Where: Around the capital of Albania, Tirana.

 
 

Weather: Low 20˚Cs, gentle breeze and just a small chance of rain so it should be pretty uniform for both early and late starters.  

Stage Type: Individual Time Trial.

Route characteristics: Short in length but quite technical with roughly 13 corners (including three U-turns), though there are a few longish straight sections to put the foot down, especially in the second half of the race when the riders go up and down the small Sauk climb (1.5km at 5%).

Stage suits: Time trial specialists, general classification contenders and strong guys who can power their way through the short distance.


Stage 2 Contenders

Josh Tarling (6/4; 2.5) is played one, won one in ITTs so far of the season with victory at the UAE Tour that he admitted he needed for his confidence after near misses at the Olympic Games and World Championships last year. After a spring campaign disrupted by illness, the two ITTs in the Giro are a big target for the young Welshman, though getting dropped the second time up the Serrel climb dashed any aspirations he had of ending stage 2 in pink. The technical nature of the first half of the route as well as the small climb aren’t ideal, so he’ll need to make up for his losses with his immense power on the straights. That said, Tarling starts as strong favourite.

Wout van Aert (7/2; 4.5) performed better than expected on stage 1 given his disrupted build-up and narrowly missed out on the win which was impressive considering he slipped back through the field on the final climb, admitting afterwards that he was really suffering. We’re clearly not seeing the best version of Van Aert yet, but it bodes well for the weeks ahead. He should be able to gain time on others through the technical sections and even at less than 100% is still a big player.

Primož Roglič (13/2; 7.5) will be looking (along with a few others) to land a mini blow in the GC race here. Time gaps will be small, but the psychological edge may be greater. Roglič has an excellent time trial pedigree and looks in great shape.

Juan Ayuso (10/1; 11.0) beat Filippo Ganna over a similar distance in Tirreno-Adriatico last year. Those positions were reversed this year, though Ayuso did take away the overall title. The short distance is in his favour though he did hit the deck on stage 1 which, however unscathed he looked afterwards, is never ideal.  

Mathias Vaček (12/1; 13.0) did great work to pilot Mads Pedersen to his win on stage 1. He was a 150/1 runner-up in the opening time trial in last year’s Vuelta a España over a similar distance (mentioned, though annoyingly not backed, in the preview). Vaček is the kind of supposed non-specialist that could overpower the course and deliver a good result.

Brandon McNulty (16/1; 17.0) was the guy that beat Vaček that day and has half a squeak of the pink jersey having finished in the front group on stage 1 which should provide plenty of motivation.

Mads Pedersen (18/1; 19.0) is showing some ridiculous climbing form and finished off a textbook performance from Lidl-Trek on stage 1. Can he keep the maglia rosa? After bonuses on the line, Pedersen now has a 6secs advantage on Van Aert and 10secs on probably five others that could challenge him.

Ethan Hayter (22/1; 23.0) is an excellent time triallist but suffered with stomach problems on stage 1 and didn’t sound that confident about his form so is probably best swerved for this.

Antonio Tiberi (25/1; 26.0) stepped up as a genuine grand tour podium contender at last year’s Giro, ultimately finishing fifth, and a top 3 on stage 2 isn’t out of the question.  

Jay Vine (28/1; 29.0) fell alongside Mikel Landa and Geoffrey Bouchard on stage 1 (both of whom were forced to abandon – Landa with a fractured vertebrae) and lost over 4mins. So, on balance, another who’s best avoided.

Edoardo Affini (40/1; 41.0) is the current European time trial champion and collected bronze at the World Championships. On his day, Affini is a serious time trial weapon and has the advantage of a much earlier start should the weather take an unexpected turn for the worse.

Stage 2 Bets

It’s tempting to put up Lidl-Trek’s Mads Pedersen or Mathias Vaček at decent prices given how they showed on stage 1, but one man will surely have their number.

He very nearly hung on to the front group on stage 1 which would’ve given him a shot at pink, but he can still put that disappointment behind him here. This is what he came for, he just needs to go out and do it – Josh Tarling for the win.

Josh Tarling 2pts win @6/4 – 1st


Posted 2301 BST Fri 9th May 2025

Prices quoted are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change

Stage 2 Result

1st Josh Tarling (6/4F)

2nd Primož Roglič (13/2) +1sec

3rd Jay Vine (28/1) +3secs